Outside privacy walls and fences are commonly erected to surround gated communities, as well as individual residential and commercial buildings. A wide variety of these wall systems are known. Almost all of them exhibit various disadvantages.
Many exterior, stand alone wall systems employ a pre-cast concrete construction. Some of these systems feature prefabricated slabs or panels that are manufactured in horizontally oriented molds. This method of manufacturing is fairly inefficient. When the completed slab is released and removed from the mold, it typically undergoes significant stress. Large amounts of reinforcing material must be employed so that the finished panel is strong enough to be lifted out of the mold without cracking. Typically, far more material is employed in the panel than is required for its eventual use as a privacy wall. Moreover, horizontal molds take up large amounts of floor space. A factory with a limited size is thereby limited in the number of wall panels that can be produced during a pre-determined period in time. Walls featuring conventional concrete panels also require the use of support posts between the adjoining panels. Considerable time, effort, material and expense are needed to install these support posts.
Cast-in-place concrete has also been used extensively for outdoor walls. However, such structures usually require continuous footings, special reinforcing and foundations that have to be excavated well below the surface of the ground. Installation of such walls requires a number of steps, each of which involves a specialized task that must be performed by a registered contractor or other specialized tradesmen. As a result, these walls are oftentimes prohibitively expensive. Masonry walls have similar requirements and are likewise quite costly to construct.
Wood fences are a significantly less expensive alternative. Such structures usually can be installed by the homeowner or an unskilled laborer. Moreover, wood fences often do not require structural certification. However, these structures use wood structural posts that deteriorate relatively rapidly, particularly when exposed to harsh weather and/or soil conditions. Wood is also susceptible to termite infestation and dry rot. As a result, wood fences must be replaced more often than other privacy wall systems.
Recently, stucco coated stryofoam walls have become popular. These walls utilize spaced apart steel posts that support the stryofoam and stucco panels. Such products are fairly lightweight and flexibly configured. On the other hand, constructing the wall is labor intensive and again requires a number of different skilled tradesmen. Ants and other insects can invade and destroy the stryofoam. Stucco tends to crack and deteriorate in response to temperature changes, settlement and dynamic loads. The steel posts, which are normally 16 to 12 gauge, are apt to oxidize under moist conditions. This diminishes the longevity of the wall and requires fairly frequent replacement.